Reel



Jan. 28, 1941. o. o. CARLSON 2,229,796

REEL

Filed July 51. 1939 in ven for Hz? rneys' l Ohm er Oscar Ca rlsonPatented Jan. 28, 1941 UNITE;

ST TES PATENT OFFICE 2' Claims.

My invention relates to reels on which coils of wire, cable and the likeare wound, or on which coils may be placed in order to be unwound asused.

5 When wire, or the like, is wound in coils on reels it is oftendesirable to remove such coils from the reels entirely, withoutunwinding the coils, but this is done only with considerable difficultywith ordinary types of reels or spools and generally necessitates thecomplete destruction of the reel or spool or, at least, the prying offof one of the side disks of the reel, rendering the reel unfit forfurther service. Furthermore, difficulty is often experienced inremoving the core of the reel from within the coil of wire or othermaterial when the wire or other material has been tightly wound on thereel.

When a previously wound coil of wire, which is not on a reel, is to beused, it is desirable to place the same on a suitable dispensing orpayout reel to keep the coil together and in place and to facilitate thedispensing or paying-out of the wire as it is used. For this purpose itis necessary, not only to have a reel with a core on which the woundcoil may easily be slid, but also to provide a reel with an adjustablecore to fit coils of various size and to hold the coil securely on thecore.

An object of my invention, therefore, is to provide a reel from whichthe coil of wire, cable or other material may be removed easily andwithout damage to the reel, and on which a previously wound coil may beplaced and securely held for dispensing.

This object I accomplish by forming my reel with a side wheel or diskwhich is removable from the core and further by making the core itselfadjustable and collapsible so that the core can be reduced in size topermit the coil to be slipped off or on the core when one of the sidedisks is removed.

Another object of my invention is to provide a reel on which coils ofvarious diameters may be wound, or may be placed for unwinding, and 5this object I attain by so arranging the core that its diameter may bevaried by a simple manipulation of the side disks or wheels.

A further object of my invention is to provide a reel on which coils ofvarious widths may be 50 wound, or placed for unwinding, and this objectI accomplish by making the distance between the two side disks orwheels, which constitute the sides of the reel, readily adjustable onthe core.

A still further object of my invention is to pro- .5-5 vide anadjustable reel of the type above indicated which can be made strongenough for prac tical use with heavy Wire and the like, but which willstill be simple in construction and not costly to manufacture.

The manner in which I attain these and inci- 5 dental objects will beapparent from the following description with reference to theaccompanying drawing.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is an end elevation of the reel, =a por- 10 tion of this figurebeing shown in section for the purpose of illustrating the constructionmore clearly;

Fig. 2 is a sectional plan taken on the lines 2-2 of Fig. 1 and lookingin the direction indi- 5 cated by the arrows;

Fig. 3 is a sectional plan taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. l and lookingin the direction indicated by the arrows; and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary elevation, partly in 20 section, and drawn to alarger scale showing the means for supporting one of the barsconstituting the core in the construction shown in Fig. l.

A dished plate 18 having a peripheral flange l9 and a central hub 20 hasa stub-shaft 2i firmly 25 secured in the central hub 28 and is providedwith a series of radial bars 22 symmetrically arranged and rigidlysecured to the hub 20 and to the flange 19. Each of the bars 22 has abracket 23 slidably mounted thereon, the bars 22 being 30 bent toconform with the interior of the recessed plate l8, substantially asshown in Figs. 1 and 2. The sliding brackets 23 are arranged to carryperpendicular arms or rods 24, the bottoms of which arms are secured tothe brackets in any suitable 3 5 manner, for example, they may besecured on threaded stems 25 formed integral with the brackets as shownin Fig. 4. The arms 24 are thus movable radially towards or away fromthe central hub 20.

A pair of identical wheel-like members 26 and 21 constitute the sides ofthe reel and form the supports for the adjustable core constituted bythe arms 24. Each of the wheel-like members comprises a central hub 28,bored to slide on the stub-shaft 2|, a rim 30, preferably made of pipeor tubing, and a series of supporting curved rods 3|. The curved rods 3|correspond in number to the arms 24 and are arranged symmetrically aboutthe hub 28, being rigidly secured to the hub 28 and to the rim 3%] bywelding or any other suitable means. These rods 3| are so shaped thatwhen symmetrically arranged they will form with each other a series ofcurved guideways 32 for accommodating the arms 24, and these guidewaysare adapted to cause the arms 24 to be moved simultaneously towards oraway from the central hubs when the wheels are particularly rotated onthe stub-shaft 2|. Slotted-head set screws 29 are provided for thepurpose of holding these Wheels rigidly in place on the stub-shaft 2|.

When my reel, made in this manner, is to be assembled for use, thebrackets 23 and their attached arms 24 are arranged so that theircenters lie in a circle about the hub 20, as shown in Fig, 2. Thewheel-like member 26 is then placed on the stub-shaft 2! with an arm 24in each of the guideways 32, and slid on the stub-shaft until the member26 is adjacent the dished plate l8. A washer 33 is preferably interposedbetween the hub 20 of the dished plate and the hub 28 of the wheel-likemember 26 to facilitate subsequent turning of the wheel 26 with respectto the dished plate [8. The wheel-like member 26 is rotated until thearms 24 form a core of the desired diameter, whereupon the slotted-headset screw 29 is tightened to retain the Wheel 26 in this position on thestub-shaft 2|. Then the other wheel-like member 21 is placed on thestub-shaft 2| with its guideways in registration with those of thewheel-like member 26 and thus with the arms 24 extending thru itsguideways. The wheel-like member 21 is then secured in place by thetightening of the set screw 29. I consider my reel when constructed inthis manner particularly suitable for use where large diameter reels arerequired because of its skeleton construction.

When the Wire or other material has been wound on the reel and it isdesired to remove the entire coil, the member 21 is removed from thestub shaft 2| and the slotted-head set screw 29 of the member 26 isloosened and the member 26 is then given a slight turn on the stub shaft2| so as to cause the arms 24 to be moved slightly towards the center ofthe reel, and thus relieve all tension on the coil, which may then bereadily lifted off.

Similarly when a coil of wire is to be placed on the reel fordispensing, the member 21 is first removed; the set screw 29 of member26 is loosened and the arms or core rods 24 are moved by the turning ofmember 26, until these arms lie in a circle slightly smaller in diameterthan the interior of the coil. When the coil is placed on these arms andthe member 21 is replaced, the arms are then moved outwardly as far aspossible by the turning of the members 26 and 21 so that the arms willhold the coil tightly in place. The set screws 29 in the members 26 and21 are then tightened so that these members, and with them the arms 24will be held in this position.

Obviously modifications might be made in the construction of details ofthe various parts of my reel without departing from the principles of myinvention. This is particularly true in the construction of thewheel-like members 26 and 21 and also in the mounting for the arms orcore rods 24 on the radial bars 22. It is not my intention to restrictthe construction of the particular members in my reel or to limit myinvention in this regard otherwise then as set forth in the attachedclaims.

I claim:

1. In a reel of the character described, an outer member, a centralshaft secured to said outer member, a plurality of similar arms movablymounted on said outer member, said arms extending inwardly from saidouter member parallel to said central shaft, a pair of reel side membersmountable on said central shaft, each of said reel side members having acentral hub and means for securing said hub firmly in place on saidcentral shaft, each of said reel side members having a series of equallyspaced curved guideways corresponding in number to said arms throughwhich said arms extend.

2. In a reel of the character described, an outer member, a centralshaft carried by said outer member, a plurality of equally spaced radialbars carried by said outer member, an arm slidably mounted on each ofsaid bars, said arms extending parallel to said central shaft, a pair ofreel side members mountable on said central shaft, each of said reelside members having a central hub and means for securing said hub firmlyin place on said central shaft, each of said reel side members having aseries of curved guideways corresponding in number to said arms throughwhich said arms extend, said guideways being identical in curvature andsaid guideways arranged symmetrically on said reel side members.

3. A reel of the character described comprising an outer member, acentral shaft secured to said outer member and perpendicular to theplane of said outer member, a plurality of similar arms movably mountedon said outer member, said arms extending inwardly from said outermember parallel to said central shaft, said arms thereby being movableradially, inwardly and outwardly with respect to said central shaft, apair of reel side members mounted on said central shaft, each of saidreel side members having a central hub and means for securing said hubfirmly in place on said central shaft, each of said reel side membershaving a series of equally spaced curved guideways corresponding innumber to said arms through which said arms extend, the curvature ofsaid guideways being sufficiently great to prevent said arms moving insaid guideways when one of said reel side members is firmly secured onsaid central shaft, but causing radial movement of said arms when saidreel side members are partially rotated on said shaft.

4. A reel of the character described comprising a cup-shaped outermember, a central shaft secured to said outer member, a plurality ofequally spaced radial bars carried by said outer member, an arm slidablymounted on each of said bars, said arms extending parallel to saidcentral shaft, said arms thereby being movable radially, inwardly andoutwardly with respect to said central shaft, a pair of reel sidemembers mounted on said central shaft, each of said reel side membershaving a central hub and means for securing said hub firmly in place onsaid central shaft, each of said reel side members having a series ofequally spaced curved guideways, the curvature of said guideways beingsufficiently great to prevent said arms moving in said guideways whenone of said reel side members is firmly secured on said central shaft,but causing radial movement of said arms when said reel side members arepartially rotated on said shaft.

5. In a reel of the character described, an outer member, a centralshaft, a plurality of similar arms movably mounted on said outer member,said arms extending inwardly from said outer member parallel to saidcentral shaft, a pair of disks mountable on said central shaft, each ofsaid disks having a central hub and means for securing said hub firmlyin place on said central shaft, each of said disks having a series ofequally spaced curved slots corresponding in number to said arms throughwhich said arms extend.

6. In an adjustable reel of the character described, a central shaft, aplurality of equallyspaced radial arms extending from said central shaftin a plane perpendicular to said shaft, reel core rods slideably mountedon said radial arms and extending parallel to said central shaft, awheel-like member rotatably mounted on said central shaft, said memberhaving a rim and a hub and a series of curved members symmetricallyarranged connecting said hub and said rim corresponding in number tosaid core rods and engaging and controlling the movement of said corerods, and means for securing said hub against rotation on said centralshaft.

'7. In an adjustable reel of the character described, a central shaft, aplurality of equallyspaced radial arms extending from said central shaftin a plane perpendicular to said shaft, said arms rigidly secured tosaid shaft, a reel core rod slideably mounted on each of said radialarms and extending parallel to said central shaft, a reel side memberslideably and rotatably mounted on said central shaft, said memberhaving a series of curved members symmetrically arranged lying in aplane perpendicular to said central shaft corresponding in number tosaid core rods and engaging and controlling the movement of said corerods, and means for securing said reel side member in place on saidcentral shaft.

OLIVER OSCAR CARLSON.

